TCO, TCA and Reliability – the 2014 ITG IBM i Studies

TCO, TCA and Reliability – the 2014 ITG IBM i Studies

November 11, 2014

Two years ago, I wrote a blog about two ITG studies that compared IBM i to our competition in the small and midsized business (SMB) market, and in the Enterprise market. Those studies have recently been refreshed, and I’ve been using charts and data from these new studies as I’ve been traveling talking about the value of IBM i on Power Systems. In today’s blog, I will point out the highlights and give you links so you can get the full studies.

 

The first 2014 study is the ITG study called “IBM i on Power Systems for Midsize Businesses.” The short URL for it ishttp://bit.ly/IBM_i_ITG2014SMB and it’s not much of a surprise that it shows, again, that the total cost of ownership for IBM i is significantly less than for the typical x86-based competition. Here’s a key chart:



As with the previous studies, the comparisons are made over a three-year period, where each set of bars represents the entire cost of running a business using only the platforms indicated. You can see businesses using IBM i and Power Systems costs 49% less than running that business on Microsoft Windows Server and x86, and 55% less than Oracle/Linux on x86. IBM i integration, ease of use and powerful DB2 contribute greatly to the value proposition the platform has had for years.

 

This 2014 study reconfirmed the competitive Total Cost of Acquisition (TCA) we now have with IBM i. While this still surprises many customers, it is valuable information to have when discussing IT investments.


 

Again, IBM i and Power Systems combine to beat the competition on average for acquisition costs; by 35% vs. Windows & x86 and by 46% vs. Oracle/Linux & x86. Powerful data to show your businesses how much IBM i and Power Systems help the bottom line, even when only looking at costs.

 

As in the previous round of studies, in 2014, ITG refreshed its study of the reliability of the platform. The new study is called “IBM i on Power Systems for Enterprise Businesses” because one of the most important aspects of a platform for large clients is “How much money will it cost me when it doesn’t work?” The short URL is http://bit.ly/IBM_i_ITG2014Ent.

 

For this study, ITG looked at large businesses in various industries that run on IBM i, and those in the same industry that run on competitive platforms. I’ve selected one chart that shows the huge difference platform choice makes.

 

Again the study looks at a three-year period, and again, IBM i + Power Systems is a winning combination. The length of the bar indicates how much money is being lost by the business when downtime occurs – and that can be actual revenue lost, or potential revenue that is not able to be gained because the application is unavailable. With the integrity and reliability of the system, and with the features we’ve added over time to allow more changes to be made in the environment without disruption, the cost of downtime is significantly lower on IBM i.

 

I’d encourage all of you to follow the links and enter the little bit of information our marketing people ask you to provide so that you can see the full reports. Then, the next time you encounter someone who wonders if trusting your business to IBM i and Power Systems is the right business decision, point them to the documents. The numbers in the study, plus your personal experiences with the stability and function of IBM i make a pretty powerful story.